Life Just Got Hella Strange
by Aheyea
Summary: Max had returned to Arcadia Bay after 5 years of living in Seattle. She was already having a bad day but fate decides to throw her right into her old best friend, the day gets weirder as she discovers that she has strange powers, but is she the only one? No storm, Rachel hasn't been missing for six months, hella pricefield.
1. Reuniting With Old Friends

-Max-

"I can... " I sighed internally, bored out of my mind. Mr. Jefferson classes were normally interesting but today felt a bit weird, something wasn't quite right, Mr. Jefferson kept glancing at me, Once I might've been extatic but there was something off today, I couldn't quite place it. My thoughts were interrupted by the soft splat of something hitting Kate Marsh in the face. Someone had shot her with a spitball, I looked around and noticed none other than Victoria Chase hastily tucking something under her desk. A spark of anger flared within me, "Will you leave Kate alone already Victoria? Seriously, where the fuck do you get off tormenting people?"

"Max! Watch your tongue please!" Mr. Jefferson barked, he was clearly annoyed at my interruption but I don't care, I was too busy glaring at Victoria who was returning the gesture, she seemed to be challenging me to defy her, to reveal what she had done. _'I'm not afraid of you Victoria, you're on.'_

"Care to share something you two?" Mr. Jefferson had moved over to stand between their tables, the rest of the class was watching intently, all except Kate who seemed to be trying to make herself invisible.

"She's been harassing Kate relentlessly, and shooting her with spitballs-" I started to speak but was almost immediately cut off by Victoria.

"Do you honestly think I would do something like that Sir?" Victoria interrupted. She twisted in her seat slightly to pose somewhat suggestively and flashed him an innocent smile, I internally groaned and rolled my eyes.

"Kate?" Mr. Jefferson turned towards the visibly shaking girl, _'Man what is up with her? I've never seen her looked this scared before.'_

"Is this true? Did Victoria hit you with a spitball?"

Kates head barely moved at all but you could still just barely make out the tiniest of nods, Mr. Jefferson didn't seem to notice however and turned back to face me.

"Ms. Caulfield I don['t like interruptions in my class, especially false accusations. I expect better of you in the future."

I was annoyed _'How can that bitch continue to get away with treating Kate like this? It's evil.'I_

A measly "Sorry" was all I could muster without letting my anger loose so instead I let my mind wander to what I should do that afternoon. I didn't have any homework for the week and didn't really have much to do otherwise.

 _'I could just practice my guitar... but then what?'_ I racked her brain, completely oblivious to Mr. Jefferson's lecture. Suddenly the image of a strawberry blonde girl entered my thoughts.

 _'Maybe I should finally go see Chloe. I've put it off for far too long as it is but... She probably hates me and wont want anything to do with me. Serves me right, I completely abandoned her when she needed me most. I tried to keep in touch with her but... I just kept getting nervous and never knew what to say. Maybe-"_

BRRIINNGG!

My brooding was brought to an abrupt halt as the sell rang signaling the end of class. Everyone started packing their bags as Mr. Jefferson spoke over the commotion

"Okay everyone, don't forget the deadline for the everyday hero's contest is in three days so Stella, Alyssa get it together and yes Max, I see you trying not to see me."

I rushed out of the school, eager to get away from Victoria and her goons. I walked over to the fountain and sat down to calm down, _'Well so much for keeping your nose clean nice job Max.'_ A soft autumn breeze swept across the grounds which were littered with at least a dozen students lounging in the afternoon sun. Trevor and Justin were rolling around with their friends as usual, Daniel was propped up against a tree doodling away in his sketchbook. A figure over by the parking lot caught her attention, a rather tall woman was climbing up the stairs, the bright blue hair was what snagged my attention but I saw she was wearing a low-cut shirt, a black blazer, jeans and combat boots. My stomach seemed to flip in my stomach as I watched her swagger over to Justin and his skater friends.

 _'Wowsers, she looks really cool. I wonder why I've never seen her here before.'_

"Hey! Max!" A familiar voice called out to me from the direction of the school, the girl Max had been watching paused and looked around, I turned hoping that she hadn't noticed her staring and saw Kate rushing over towards me.

"Hey Kate, what's up?" I asked, Kate had been avoiding everyone including her for the last week and I'm glad she was talking to me again.

"I just wanted to thank you for standing up for me in class today, I needed that."

"Of course Kate, I'm sick of the way she treats you,

"Aren't you worried about what shell do to get back at you?" Kate asked, there was a hint of fear in her voice and Max could tell that she was also afraid of Victoria's retaliation against her.

"Not really, I mean what's the worst she can do anyway?"

"I hope you never have to find out." Kate muttered, pulling out a book from her Backpack and turning to a seemingly random page.

I looked back over to the cute blue-haired girl and saw she was still looking at me, I felt a little warm and I swear I could hear my heartbeat but I managed to smile and give her a friendly wave. She quickly turned around and started walking very fast to the parking lot. _'Did I do something wrong?'_

"Hey Kate?"

"hmm?"

"do you know that blue-haired girl over there?" Kate looked up from her book, to see the mysterious girl I was indicating and wrinkled her nose a bit. "Yea, shes some punk that used to go here, I'm pretty sure she got expelled... or just stopped showing up, she was kind of a jerk really."

"huh." I watched the girl as she reached the stairs, she glanced over her shoulder then disappeared down the stairs.

"I think her name was Clara or Chloe or something." Kate added as she turned back to her book.

I froze, the entire world seemed to stop as she attempted to process what she had just heard. Chloe Price, her childhood best friend had just been standing only yards away, her strange behavior suddenly made sense.

 _'Oh gods, she must've recognized me. I've gotta catch up to her.' My thoughts were interrupted as I realized something was wrong, it was q_ uiet, too quiet, especially for Blackwell. I looked around feeling dread creep through my body, the air was thick and impossibly still, no sign of the light Autumn breeze. Kate was staring with unmoving eyes at her book. At the far end of the yard a boy was frozen in mid air with a skateboard hovering just under his feet. A few people were frozen Mid-stride, while the rest remained impossibly still either sitting or standing.

 _'Its as though someone just hit the pause button on the world.'_

I stood up and tried to move but it felt like I was trying to move through molasses. I felt pressure rapidly grow in my head causing an involuntary grunt of pain to escape my lips. "What the fuck? Am I somehow causing this?"

The words had barely come out of my mouth when everything resumed, the pressure evaporated almost immediately. _'Did no one else notice that? What the hell just happened?'_

I shook myself out of my daze and started running towards the parking lot after the blue-haired girl.

"Max?" Kate called out, noticing the sudden hast of her friend, but I ignored her. _'I need to catch her, it's now or never Max.'_

My feet pounded against the soft grass as I sprinted over towards the parking lot, I leapt over Trevor who was curled up on the ground grunting in pain. I made a mental note to check up on him later as I reached the stairs to the parking lot, taking them three at a time. I dashed into the parking lot and stopped in the middle of the road, looking around for Chloe. I had barely begun scanning when I heard the blaring sound of a horn and squealing tires, out of the corner of my eye I saw a large brown truck barreling towards me moving to fast to stop in time.

I suddenly felt pain all across my body and I realized I was on the ground, and yet feeling impossibly light. _'I'm sorry Chloe...'_ and with that final thought, the world faded into darkness.

"I could take any of you..." Mr. Jefferson's voice filled her ears, Max jerked up from her desk, breathing hard. _'What the fuck? I'm back in Jefferson's class? Was it all a dream?'_

On a hunch she looked over at Victoria to see her holding a small tube to her mouth, aiming at Kate. Her eyes widened in surprise, _'It's happening again?'_ "Knock it off Victoria, Kate doesn't need any more shit from you."

Victoria jumped, surprised that Max had noticed her, the tube flew out of her hands and she struggled to grab it and hold onto it. Mr. Jefferson turned around at the sound of Max's voice and saw Victoria fumbling with the spitball shooter.

"Victoria, please throw that away and do not torment your fellow students. Max since you seem so interested in joining the conversation, could You you please give us an example of a photographer who managed to perfectly capture the human condition in black and white?"

"Oh, erm..." Max felt her face grow hot with embarrassment, she hated being put on the spot like that and Mr. Jefferson knew it, this was clearly supposed to be punishment for interrupting his lecture. "I don't know." Max mumbled earning her the stink eye from her teacher.

"Dianne Arbus?" Victoria instantly offered. "Thank you Victoria, why Arbus?"

Max sighed internally and tried to wrap her head around what just happened.

 _'Okay so I caught Victoria in the act, so was that all just a dream? A premonition? It felt more... substantial though, as though I had really lived it... and then I froze time? What the hell is going on? Do I really have the power to control time? Chloe... I need to find her again, I need to find her and fix things. before-'_

BRRIINNGG!

the sudden and shrill sound of the school bell caused max to jump in her seat, she had been so immersed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed how much time had passed.

"We'll pick this up next class, and guys don't forget the deadline for the Everyday Hero's contest, I'll be flying out with the winner to San Francisco where you'll be feted by the art world. It's great exposure and it can kick start your career in photography so Stella, Alyssa, Taylor get it together, and yes Max I can see you pretending not to see me. Victoria, my desk now please."

Max hurriedly packed her things in her bag and rushed out of the room, the last thing she wanted right now was to get caught up talking to Mr. Jefferson about her entry. She Walked out of the school and found herself sitting at the fountain. She was suddenly struck with awe as she realized that everything in front of her looked exactly as it had before, she looked at the parking lot and saw her, the girl from before, Chloe. Max took a deep breath, bracing herself for what was to come and started walking over to her old best friend.

"OI CAULFIELD!" Max whipped around to see where the angry bellow had come from. Nathan barged out of the school, he looked furious. "You are going to pay for that!"

Max got to her feet and started backing away as quickly as she dared Nathan continued to advance on her walking quickly. Max turned and started to run, towards the last person in the planet who wanted to see her.

* * *

-Chloe-

"OI! CAULFIELD!" I looked up at the sudden outburst, _'Uh-oh, Nathans pissed, better bail on our meeting.'_ I looked up and saw Nathan Prescott marching towards a skinny girl in a grey hoodie and jeans with brown hair. She was turning towards Nathan and started backing away from him, something about her seemed familiar. _'Wait didn't he say Caulfield? No... it can't be her, she wouldn't come back not here... not to me.'_

Nathan continued to advance on her, picking up his pace, she turned and started running, _towards me of all people._ As she drew closer Chloe felt a mixture of dread, anger and fear creep into her heart. _'It is her, after all this time she's back.'_

Max stumbled a few feet away from Chloe, she seemed to look surprised and... a little relived? "Chloe?!" she gasped.

I shook off my surprise and turned my attention to Nathan who had caught up to us.

"Hey dick-wad, the fuck do you want with her?" I felt a slight brushing at my side as Max moved besides me.

"Keep out of this Price, it doesn't involve you!" Nathan snapped.

"Your threatening one of my friends so yea it does actually." I shot back. _'Why the hell am I defending her, why did I even call her my friend? What if I just walk away and let him deal with her?_

"She ratted on my girl and landed her in detention for the rest of the week!" Nathan growled. "Aw... did your widdle icky Vicky get in trouble? Seriously dude overact much?" I smirked and glanced at Max who looked absolutely mortified.

"Don't you fucking go there Price!"

"Seriously dude take a chill pill, detention is hardly the worst thing that Vicky could have gotten herself into."

"You know what? Forget our meeting Price it's off! I don't care what you wanted its bullshit anyways. Just like your little _friend_ here."

"Forget this shit were outta here." I grabbed Max's hand and pulled her towards the parking lot eager to get away from Nathan. Surprisingly he didn't follow us and I let out a sigh of relief.

I was torn, I wanted to be mad at Max I mean after all this time away she comes back without even telling me and then expected me to protect her? Even so, after seeing her face again the anger I had been building up against her started fading away. _'She better have a damn good explanation.'_ "Get in." Max obeys without a word and I start my truck. Not sure where to go.

I fought the urge to pounce on Max unsure if it would be out of excitement or frustration so I decided to go with frustration to try and get her to tell me why she abandoned me.

"Why Max?" I snapped, "Why did you leave me when I needed you most, why the fuck did you stop talking to me and why, why did you decide to come back after what you did to me?"

I glanced at Max, she looked sad and a little scared, I felt bad but I needed to know why.

"Chloe, you know I didn't want to move away, I bitched about it to my parents for days trying to convince them to change their minds. I even tried to get them to let me stay here with you and Joyce. But they would hear any of it!" Max protested. I let out a grunt hoping it sounded annoyed. I didn't trust myself to speak, I didn't want to lose my angry edge and get emotional too.

I'm s-so sorry Chloe, what I did was inexcusable and I don't expect you to forgive me. I don't really think I quite know why I let us d-drift apart. Even though I suck at showing it I missed you loads. Y-you have no idea how badly I wanted to run to your house and beg for mercy the second I got back but..." Max's voice faltered a bit as she struggled to find the words to express her feelings.

"But?"

"But I was s-scared, mostly because of how you would react, I was af-fraid that you would turn me away and h-hate me. I thought it would be easier if I settled in and got u-used to my surroundings but I guess I was really just st-stalling." Max's stutter got worse as she slowly dissolved into tears. _'Dammit Max why you gotta make this so hard for me?'_

I managed to keep silent composure, unsure of what to say, Max's sobs turned to sniffles and eventually stopped all together but I could tell that she was still upset. I sighed as I made the last turn into my neighborhood, _'Of course we end up here, why the fuck not.'_

I parked the truck in the driveway of the half painted house of our childhood and immediately jumped out, relived that step-asses car wasn't there, hopefully we can just avoid him all afternoon. Just as I was about to open the door I looked over to see that Max hadn't moved so I called out to her. "Hey! You coming in or what?"


	2. Strange New Abilities

A/N-

Hey all, thank you for the reviews follows and favorites, it means a lot to me. I really appreciate any critiques and reviews that you leave; thanks in particular to  . .goodness for mentioning that I had some grammatical errors, I went back to find them and noticed that I had accidentally written Max's POV in third person contrary to Chloe's First Person. I'm rewriting Max's POV to be in first person, it should be out withing the next couple of days. the story line is the same just some minor changes to how it's told.

Anyways, here's Chapter 2 of 'life just got hella strange,' enjoy.

-Chloe-

As soon as I had gotten into my room I flopped onto the bed and pulled one of my joints out of my little lunchbox under it, Max nervously stepped in just as I went to light it.

"Hey hippie, wanna throw on some tunes for a sec? I'm gonna have a quick smoke."

"Is that weed?" Max asked timidly

"Yep."

"Oh... Isn't that illegal or something?"

"Yea, so?"

Max didn't respond, instead the silence was broken by the soft tunes of my green day soundtrack.

I lost track of what Max was doing as I puffed the joint, but I knew that she must be bursting with awkwardness... and questions.

"Hey nerd, silence is killing me here why don't you put on some music? I should have a some CD's lying around somewhere in this shithole."

"Oh, um o-okay."

 _'heh, cute she still stutters when she's nervous.'_

after a few moments I hear my stereo start playing some green day, I smiled _'Why excellent choice Max, I could use some angst filled music right now.'_

I looked over at her and to my horror I saw she was holding a photograph, one of the few I had of Rachel.

"Dude what the fuck! That's private give it back!" I couldn't hold back the anger in my voice, as I snatched the photo from her hands. The look of shame and a hint of embarrassment flashed across Max's face and I felt kinda bad for lashing out like that but still, it was hidden for a reason.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to snoop I just..."

"It's okay Maxie, I'm sorry, I just overreacted on you, and freaked out." I don't even really know why I freaked out, maybe I was just embarrassed of my previous relationship with her, I wasn't sure if Max would find it weird that I was gay.

"Rachel, the other person in the picture is Rachel." _'Well, I have to tell Max about her anyway.'_ "You two look really happy in this picture, you must've been really good friends." Max murmured sadly.

"We were, after dad died and you left, I didn't have anyone and Rachel... she saved me, she kept me from falling off the deep end."

"She sounds like a good person."

"She was, she was my angel."

"What happened?"

"We got into a hella bad fight the other day. Sorry but I really don't want to talk about that shit right now." I breathed in the last of my joint and stubbed the stub out in my ashtray.

"Anyway enough of this depressing bullshit, lets party!" I jumped off the bed and cranked up the volume on the stereo, now it was playing a song called Ace Of Spades.

Max's face lit up a bit at my change in attitude as I jumped onto the bed and started jumping up and down to the beat for the music, she took out her camera and took a picture, much to my amusement.

"C'mon Max shake that bony white ass!" I laughed and she started swaying back and forth a bit. Suddenly Max took a step back, arm raised as if she was reaching for something.

"Max... are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." I stopped dancing and stepped off the bed, eyeing Max.

"I didn't know you had a step-father Chloe." I froze _'How could she possibly know about David?'_

"H-how did you know about him? I didn't-"

"Chloe! I told you to stop blasting that punk shit!" the gruff voice of 'Private Dickhead' roared over the music.

"Shit, shit shitshitshitshit." I hastily ran over to the stereo and turned it off. "Max you gotta hide, he doesn't like strangers."

"We need to talk! I'm coming upstairs."

"I know Chloe, hide your ashtray he's going to flip when he sees it."

"What? How could you possibly know that?" The thuds of Davids footsteps were growing closer to the stairs but I was still trying to figure Max out, he pounded on the door and Max darted to my ashtray, she picked it up and looked around as if trying to find somewhere to hide it.

"Chloe I'm coming in." I bolted over to the door and slammed against it keeping it closed. "Chloe!"

"Chill dude, I'm trying to get dressed! Just give me a sec!" I waved my hand at Max trying to signal her to hide in the closet or something but she didn't move, she had apparently managed to hide the ashtray in time though since it was absent from her hands.

"It's okay Chloe he's going to find me anyways." Max sat down on my bed and gestured for me to open the door. I stepped away, reluctantly turning the knob and opening the door, allowing step-douche in.

"Chloe one of my- who is this?" David pointed at Max and looked at her as if she was planning to rob us or something.

"She's one of my friends, duh! What, am I not allowed to have friends now?" I was already getting mad at him, it was easy for me to dislike him and being in the same room as him only shortened my temper.

"I don't like you bringing strangers into this house Chloe!"

"The fuck dude, I just said she's my friend and she's actually been here a lot more than you have." David glared at me as if he wanted to say something further about Max but he switched topics.

"One of my guns is missing, did you take it?" I was taken aback, not expecting that question at all. I _hadn't_ actually taken one of his guns but I wasn't about to let him get away with accusing Max and I.

"Chloe didn't take any of your guns sir, I've been with her all morning, there was no way she could've taken it." Max's sudden rush to my defense took me even more by surprise, I didn't expect her to lie for me or even speak for that matter. I glanced back and forth between the two, David looked mad, but Max looked determined... and tired as if she had been up all night with very little sleep.

"Well then who did take it?" David directed his question to the both of us.

"How the fuck are we supposed to know? Unlike you we don't care so unless you have anything else, get the hell out of my room!" I shouted at David, he looked like he wanted nothing more than to continue fighting with me.

"Fine, I have to go report this to the police anyways." he turned to leave. "I don't want to see _her_ when I get back." he slammed the door behind him and stomped back down the

"C'mon Maxi-pad I'm getting hella hungry, lets go get something to eat and you can explain why you're acting so weird." I spun my keys on my finger and spun around beckoning Max to follow.

I pulled up to the Two Whales Diner and parked in my usual sloppy manner and jumped out of the truck, the stress of dealing with David was still on my shoulders and I felt like Max was about to add to that.

"Hey Max, why don't you head inside real quick? I'm gonna have a quick smoke." I said pulling out my cigarettes. Max nodded and headed inside as I placed a cig in between my lips and lit it.

I leaned back against the cool metal of my truck

"Speak of the devil and she shall arrive." Joyce's familiar southern drawl rang out from the corner booth where she was evidently holding Max hostage.

"Hope you're not looking for another free meal." I rolled my eyes and plopped down in the seat across from Max.

"Nice to see you too mom." I hadn't meant for my voice to sound so sarcastic but it did anyways.

"Well you're only getting one piece of bacon today missy." She turned and walked back behind the counter.

"Okay Max, You wanna tell me exactly what's going on with you today?" I asked, turning to face the Brunette, she paused and sipped on her coffee.

"I can rewind time Chloe." I blinked, unsure of how to react.

"Um, what?"

"Here I can prove it, I'll tell you the next few events that happen."

"You're going to predict the future?" Max smiled.

"Not technically, I'm going to live it and then rewind to tell you."

"Alright whatever you say Maximus Prime." I couldn't help but grin, I was exited to see if she really did have superpowers, _'Maybe I should tell her about-"_

"Joyce brings us our food, My Belgian waffle and your french toast and bacon, more than the one piece I might add. The truck driver asks for a refill and Joyce goes to get a fresh pot of coffee, then Trevor and Justin um, well either they are both _really_ high or they are actually gay for each other cause they kiss each other." Max finishes her prediction and looks over just in time to see Joyce bringing over two plates of steaming food. I wasn't too surprised that she guessed the dishes, I usually got french toast for breakfast.

"Here you go kids, enjoy." Joyce put down our plates and walked back towards the counter.

"Hey Joyce, you mind topping me off?" One of the guys at the counter waived at her as she stepped behind the counter and picked up the pot of coffee. I nervously turned over towards the door and saw Trevor and Justin in what looked like an argument, I was about to call Max out on it but before I could Justin grabbed Trevor's shirt and kissed him. I felt the blood drain from my face, there's no way she could have guessed that out of everything else.

"Max... what the hell was that?" I turned back and saw that Max was already chowing down on her waffles, she swallowed the bite she was working on.

"I told you I can rewind time."

"That was hella cool, c'mon you have to show me more, something different so there's no doubt." Max looked down at her coffee thinking.

"I wonder if I can..." Max started but then let her words trail off as she reached out and took my hands in hers. My skin felt strangely hot where Max touched and my stomach turned.

"M-max what are you doing?"

"I haven't done anything yet. I was going to see if I could rewind with you though."

"Oh. Cool." _'I can't seriously be crushing on her can I? We've only been back in action for a day, what the hell is wrong with me?'_

Max's face contorted slightly in concentration and I suddenly felt a little dizzy. Everything around us had suddenly started moving backwards, sounds were distorted as the entire world flowed backwards as if someone was rewinding a movie. My dizziness got worse and I tried to pull away from Max hoping to make it stop, the world started moving in the same direction again and Max let go of my hands. The room was spinning in my vision, I closed my eyes and held my head in my hands trying to settle myself.

"Oh god, Chloe are you alright?" Max gasped.

"Yea-yea I'm fine just a little dizzy, I'll be fine." Several seconds passed before I felt comfortably stable and I opened my eyes. At some point Max had reached over and was now holding my arm with a worried expression on her face. Mine on the other hand burned at the contact, I pulled my hand away and looked out the window hoping Max hadn't noticed.

"Can't Say I'm a fan of time travel though so I'll leave that to you I guess." I replied managing a chuckle.

"I'm sorry Chloe I didn't hurt you did I?

"Nah, I just got a bit dizzy there for a sec it's passed now though." _'That was hella cool though, I should probably tell her my secret since she told me hers.'_

"Hey let's go ahead and eat, I wanna show you something, I dunno about you but I don't like adventuring on an empty stomach."

-Max-

I was concerned about Chloe, One minute she is practically bouncing off of the walls over my "rewind power" and now... Now she was quiet, nervous, even anxious. Something was bothering her and I was having to bite my lip to keep myself from asking her what went wrong.

I watched the trees zip past us as we traveled along the beach, Chloe turned and we were now driving into the forest, she eventually pulled to a stop at the base of a trail and jumped out.

"Chloe?" I couldn't hold back any longer I needed to know what was wrong. "What's up? You're acting weirder than I was with David."

Chloe bit her bottom lip, and didn't respond right away. Instead we started walking up the trail leaving me to follow closely behind.

"Do you remember when I mentioned that I was in a bad place when you left Max?"

"Y-yea, you said that Rachel saved you."

"Well, 'bad place' is one hell of an understatement. I felt lonely, abandoned, two of the three people I ever loved and who ever cared about me left me in the space of a fort-fucking-night." Chloe paused, her voice had gained a slight tremor to it as she spoke. A cold breeze brushed past us through the trees making me shudder but Chloe didn't even flinch.

"Oh god, Chloe I'm so-"

"Joyce tried to help me, she even got me to see a therapist but they just gave me pills to try and make me feel better... they didn't do shit to fill the void you left. I gave up, six months after you left and I hadn't improved at all, I found myself at the edge of a cliff, this cliff actually."

As if on cue we emerged from the trees into a large cliff-side clearing, the trail continued a short ways on the other side leading to a large lighthouse. There was a bench in the middle of the clearing overlooking the 50 meter drop to the ocean below.

"So... what happened? Between you and R-rachel I mean." I asked hesitantly wondering if she was ready to talk about it yet or not.

"She..." Chloe paused and then sighed looking dejected. "She was hiding a relationship from me for several months, I though we-" She cut herself off and looked away but I saw her neck was turning red giving me a small suspicion that I had to ask.

"Did- did you have f-feling for her Chlo?" Chloe didn't move but my suspicion had been more or less confirmed anyways.

"She lied to me about it that's all that matters."

"This is where you met her right?" A small sliver of fear grew inside me partially worried about Chloe and partially about falling off the cliff, I gripped her hand nervously and she looked at me with a soft smirk on her lips, and tears lining her eyes.

"Scared Mad-Max?" I shook my head hoping that my lie wasn't to obvious, when I looked back at Chloe her eyes were still on mine. She pulled me closer and gave me a strangely comforting hug, it was warm and I felt strangely safe in her arms.

"Don't worry Max I've got you. ...No, I didn't meet Rachel here Max. I didn't meet her until a year later once I finally got back to school." Chloe pulled away from me and I suddenly felt very sad, I didn't want her to let me go.

"She wasn't here to stop me from jumping off." Chloe murmured, her eyes were distant as if deep in thought. _'Wowsers, her eyes are the same shade of blue as her hair- wait what the? Where did that come from Max?'_

"Wait... so if Rachel didn't stop you, who- or what- did?" I asked confused at her wording.

"Nothing, I did jump Max. I literally jumped to my death."

My confusion only deepened how could she have jumped she was standing right here in front of me she couldn't have jumped she wouldn't have survived the impact.

"Okay Chloe, you're pulling my leg, how could you be here if you jumped?"

Chloe's face lit up in her 'I'm about to do something I really shouldn't face.' and I immediately regretted asking.

"Why Max, I'm so glad you asked." Chloe let go of my hand and started walking backwards, right towards the edge of the cliff.

"Chloe, please be careful, you're almost at the edge." I whined, pushing myself to follow her.

"Relax Max, I'll be fine I just need you to promise me something."  
"What?" I stopped, Chloe was now right on the edge, I was about 5 meters away but my legs seemed to have forgotten how to work.

"Don't rewind this, I promise ill be fine but you can't rewind otherwise we'll be here a while."

"What? Chloe please just get away from the edge, I-"

"C'mon Max please? I'm not going to move unless you promise." She teetered on the balls of her feet looking anxious and mischievous at the same time making me feel like she was going to fall.

"Fine. I promise now please come back." Chloe broke out into a full grin and Laughed.

"Alright geek I'll come back." Chloe dramatically raised her leg, as if to mimic a soldier but immediately something went very wrong. Her opposite foot slipped backwards, making her stumble... right off the edge of the cliff.


	3. Partners In Crime

-Max-

"CHLOE!" I shouted and ran towards the edge of the cliff, Chloe was suspended just under the ledge, frozen in mid-air. I looked around and realized that the whole world seemed stationary. _'Oh shit, did I just freeze time again?'_

I looked back at Chloe and frowned in confusion, there was no trace of fear on her face, on the contrary she had a huge shit-eating grin on her face.

 _'Chloe what are you up to?'_ I laid down and stretched my arm out towards Chloe, my fingertips just barely reached the tip of her boot, _'I can't reach her, I can't do it_.'

A silent sob slipped through my lips as I realized that Chloe was about to die, I desperately wanted to rewind but I had promised Chloe I wouldn't. I closed my eyes, trying to think of anything I could do. Suddenly a pressure in my head I hadn't noticed faded, the sounds of the ocean and the trees came back to me, I kept my eyes closed not wanting to watch her hit the water.

But the sound never came

"To be honest, I thought that would be hella funny but in hindsight..." Chloe's voice rang clearly, right in front of me. I opened my eyes and to my shock Chloe was standing right in front of me face-to-face with me. Only she wasn't standing on anything.

"C-Chloe? What the hell?"

"I know right? Isn't this amaze-balls?" Chloe shot up in the air, did a flip and landed behind me on the grass. "I can fly and now you can rewind time! Were like superheroes or something!"

I didn't know how to respond, I just watched Chloe fall off a cliff and then she _flies_ back up? How was I supposed to respond to that?

"Max?" Chloe's smile faltered when she returned her gaze to me. "Are you okay?"

Chloe stepped towards me and took my hand with a strange expression on her face.

"C'mon Max, I wanna show you something that should cheer you up a little." I suddenly realized Chloe was very close to me and turned away, blushing. "I promise it's not mean, I'm not going to do anything like that again."  
"Um okay I guess where are we going?" I asked hesitantly. Chloe beamed and suddenly scooped me into her arms with little difficulty, I didn't weigh that much but even so I was a little surprised by her air of ease. _'Maybe she's unnaturally strong too? Or maybe she just works out or something?'_

"You didn't tell me you were super strong too." I teased, wrapping my arms around her shoulder, trying very hard not to meet her gaze.

"Not really actually, definitely stronger than your weak-ass, but not by that much." to my horror Chloe started walking towards the edge of the cliff, I tightened my grip. "Not a fan of heights eh? Don't worry I've got you." I nodded but didn't ease my grip, Chloe suddenly crouched then jumped high into the air.

The sudden rush of air made my eyes water, I glanced down which was a huge mistake. _'Oh shit we're so high up already.'_ I flinched and held myself closer to Chloe's body closing my eyes.

We tilted in the air slightly and started moving sideways.

"Hey hippie, you're missing quite a view." Chloe called out above the wind.

I hesitantly opened my eyes and gasped in amazement, the entirety of Arcadia bay was spread out in front of us, the rocky beach like a wall keeping the ocean away. Towards the left side of the town I saw the red brick tower of Blackwell academy poking out above the trees and I could just barely make out the sign for the Two Whales diner over towards the center of the small town.

"Quite the view isn't it?" Chloe mused, "Try this one."

"Chloe what are you-" My words cut off as Chloe began rising even higher into the air, the air getting noticeably colder as we ascended. I shivered but Chloe seemed unaffected by the cold, _'I knew she didn't mind the cold but it's freezing up here.'_

Suddenly the entire world became enveloped in mist, all I could see was Chloe and I realized that we were in the clouds. It didn't take long for my clothes to start feeling damp but before I could think about it much we broke free of the clouds into a blinding light.

After blinking to recover my vision I gasped at the sight that lay before me. Golden clouds swirled and danced all around us casting intricate and unique shadows it almost looked _alive_.

I looked back at Chloe, beads of moisture were sparkling across her face, the wind tossed her hair around, the sunlight made it seem as if the whipping strands were glowing like blue neon, and her eyes seemed so bright and were filled with the same amount of amazement that I felt as she looked across the clouds.

"Wowsers." I muttered,

"Wowsers? You're still using that? You are _such_ a goddamn hipster Max." Chloe laughed. I felt my face grow hot with embarrassment.

"Oh fuck you." I grumbled receiving more laughter from Chloe.

"Okay let's go back down, my arms are starting to fall asleep." Chloe suddenly took a nose dive and I yelped in fright at the sudden movement.

Chloe flew back towards the lighthouse but instead of landing in the clearing she continued to lower herself down the edge of the cliff until we reached an opening in the rock face.

"Chloe what is this?" I asked as Chloe set her feet on the ground, then proceeding to let me down onto my feet.

"This is my hideout, I come here when I need to get away from all the bullshit of life. I looked around at the cave, it wasn't very deep, the entire area was about the same size as Chloe's room. There was a torn, two person couch in the middle of the room facing the opening, there was a wooden wheel spool acting as a table just in front of it with a couple magazines lying on it, there were a few beer bottles and cigarette butts scattered around the area.

"Pretty sick pad you've got here." I teased in my best skater-boy impersonation, Chloe frowned.

"Yeeaa... No, don't do that."

"How did you get this stuff in here anyways?" I asked moving to sit on the couch.

"It wasn't actually that hard, the wheel only weighs a few pounds, easy enough to carry, and I used a _lot_ of rope for the couch so I could carry it properly." Chloe shrugged and joined me on the couch.

"Ah." I struggled trying to find something else to say but I couldn't think of anything. We sat in silence for a few minutes watching the waves crash against the beach.

A dull ache began to form in my head, I looked around thinking I had accidentally used my powers but everything seemed fine. I shook my head trying to ignore the pain and Chloe seemed to notice.

"Hey, you alright?" Chloe rested her hand on my shoulder, the pain flared and and the cave was suddenly replaced with darkness.

I was cold and lying on a cold hard surface, I blinked trying to clear my vision, but all I could see were blurry grey shapes. One of the shapes started moving towards me and I tried calling out but all that came out was a groggy moan.

"Ah you're finally awake. Good, now we can begin." The voice was deep and oddly familiar but I couldn't focus enough to even try and think about it. A strange clicking noise filled the air, _'What the hell is this? Where...'_

I tried moving but my arm's refused to move, something held my hands together, I found my legs were also bound together at the ankles. _'Why am I tied up?'_ Panic rushed through me as I realized that I was in really deep trouble. _'Wait, I was just with Chloe... where is she?'_

"C-Chloe..." I moaned and to my horror the voice growled in annoyance.

"That bitch can't help you Maxine, awfully clever of you to track Nathan here to find your friend but it's too late, I killed both of them before they even knew what hit them." The figure started walking around me ducking up and down, while a strange clicking noise filled the air.

"But you... I couldn't kill you yet, after all _you_ are going to be my masterpiece Maxine." The words filled me with dread and fear and I started squirming trying to break free of the restraints on my limbs.

"Dammit Maxine! Stop moving already!" The angry shadow suddenly grabbed my shoulder and pulled me sharply onto my back, I resisted his grip and felt a hand hit me across the face.

"You've ruined the shot! I guess we're going to have to try this again." he hissed, he walked away but was back almost immediately. A hand gripped my head and forced it to the side and I felt something pinch my neck.

"Nuh-noooo..." I whimpered.

"Maybe you'll be a bit more cooperative when you wake up." The drowsy feeling strengthened and the room began to fade back into darkness.

-Chloe-

"Max, please wake up..." I whispered, after Max had suddenly passed out in the cave, I had flown her back up to the lighthouse, it was so much harder since she wasn't holding onto me, I was scared I was going to drop her. I was carrying her all the way back to my truck

I felt Max stir in my arms and looked down to see her looking back at me with wide eyes.

"Chloe!" Max exclaimed flinging her arms around my neck.

"Max? What the hell just happened to you?" to my shock, Max dug her face into my shoulder and began to sob.

"I-I don't k-know Chlo, some sort of dream or-or nightmare, it was awful." I held her a little closer hoping the motion would seem comforting.

"Hey, it's okay Maxie, I've got you." I resumed our trek back to the truck and Max's sobs faded to sniffles, and I wondered what the hell could've gotten her scared shitless in the span of a few minutes.

"Thanks Chloe, I'm sorry for freaking out on you. You can put me down now though if you want." she mumbled.

"No that's okay, we're almost there." I didn't mind carrying Max and I really didn't want her to get hurt if she passed out again.

We emerged from the woods and found the parking lot immersed in a soft golden glow, making my truck look far less shitty than normal. _'It must be getting pretty late it's a good thing we came back when we did otherwise we'd be walking blind.'_

"Hey Chloe, can you put me down now? I wanna take a photo." I chuckled at her nerdy impulsiveness.

"God, you are such a hipster." I let her down somewhat gently while making sure she didn't fall over.

"Fine, you can't be my model then." Max stuck her tongue out at me.

I rolled my eyes smiling, then turned back to the truck before I was even halfway there I heard the click and whirring of Max's camera.

"I thought you said I couldn't be your muse." I teased

"I said model not muse." Max objected

"Oh so I'm your muse now am I?" I asked turning to face her and slightly surprised to see her face rapidly turning pink.

"I didn't- you-" Max stammered and I roared with laughter at her awkwardness.

"Shut up. Max mumbled

"Oh C'mon I'm just messing with you, anyway lets get outta here its getting hella late and I wanna get into some mischief before the night is over." I climbed into the truck eager to get 'goody two-shoes's shoes dirty, Max looked hesitant but got in anyways.

The sun had set completely by the time we reached Blackwell, _'Good only a couple more hours until we can break in.'_

I followed Max up to her dorm room, we were mostly silent the entire time as to avoid getting caught and having Max get in trouble for being out past curfew. Fortunately no one was out and about and we didn't get caught.

"Haha nice Max, the Blackwell Ninjas strike again." I exclaimed as Max closed the door behind her.

"Shhh not so loud, people might hear us." Max hissed. I shrugged and looked around the small room, _'Whoa, hipster central.'_ My gaze swept across the unmade bed to the desk with various papers, books and Max's laptop, to a mini-tree by the curtain-less window, to the small couch and my gaze fell upon an object propped up against it.

" _Dude_ , you have a guitar? C'mon Caulfield, shred some hella sick beats." I demanded, getting exited as I picked up the plain, acoustic guitar.

"I'm really not that good Chlo, I haven't even been able to practice much lately." Max mumbled shyly, she had sat down on the edge of her bed, propped up on her hands behind her.

I could tell Max really didn't want to play for me _'Probably thinks she's bad and is embarrassed or something.'_ I put the guitar back down and plopped down onto the couch, pulling a bag of pre-rolled weed from my blazer.

"Chloe, we're not supposed to smoke in the dorms." Max scolded.

"Oh C'mon Maxi-pad, were not hurting anyone, just crack the window open to vent the place and no-one will be the wiser." I argued sticking the joint in between my lips.

"Besides, we've got hella time to kill before everyone is gone or in bed for the night."

"Fine, just try not to burn the place down or get ash in the carpet." Max sighed.

I grinned as I lit the joint, and a sudden idea crossed my mind, _'I wonder if I can get her to join me...'_ I took a slow drag, filling my lungs with the smoke, then just as slowly exhaled.

I looked over at Max and held out the joint to her, her nose crumpled slightly.

"No thanks, I'm good." I put on my best puppy dog expression, at least, I _hope_ I did.

"Aww, why not?"

"I don't really want to ruin my lungs today thanks."

"You know, Marijuana isn't actually bad for you right? It's not even addictive." I replied waving the stick in Max's face, she looked temped but still shook her head.

"But it is illegal though-" Max started to argue but I cut her off.

"Don't worry about it, the head of security is my step-dictator remember? He's caught me loads of times and still hasn't reported me despite his threats."

"You're not going to let this go are you?" Max sighed defeated, I grinned widely knowing that I had won.

"Nope."

"Fine, I'll try it." Max carefully took the joint from my hand and took it in her own mimicking the way I had been holding it.

"Just breathe in slowly, and try not to-" Max suddenly coughed violently and I chuckled.

"Breathe in too much." I finished smiling at the the soft frown on Max's face. "Go ahead and try again, it's always rough the first few times."

Max nodded and tried again, this time with only a mild cough before handing it back to me, I took another hit, then offered it back to her but she shook her head.

"No thanks, I want to be able to think clearly, knowing you we're probably going to need at least one of us clear-minded." Max said with a small smirk forming on her lips.

"Yea, yea, ya smartass." We sat in silence for a while, I studied Max's photo wall, most were pictures taken in Seattle, only a couple were from here, some recently and some back from before Max moved.

Max stood up and walked over towards the couch, she picked up her guitar and went back to resume her position on her bed. I couldn't stop the smile forming on my lips as I realized that Max was going to play for me.

She strummed the cords softly, filling the room with sound, then started playing a slow tune, moving her fingers up and down the neck of the guitar as her thumb plucked the matching cords. I tried to think of the name of the song, it sounded so familiar but I couldn't place it. Max suddenly mis-strummed a note and froze, she looked mortified and embarrassed and I spoke up hoping to make her feel better.

"Max that was amazeballs, there's no way you're just a beginner." Max blushed and laid the instrument on her bed. "What song was that anyways?"

"It's called Needs by collective soul, I play it slower than its meant to be though, still not used to playing faster." I took the final puff of my joint, licked my fingertips and put it out with them discarding the stub in the trash.

"Well it sounded beautiful Maximus." I smiled at her but was confused inside, _'Where the fuck did this sappy side come from? Back to hell with you!'_

I stood up and stretched, glancing at my phone I was that it was almost midnight, we could probably get going now.

"Okay Max, It's late enough let's go." I grabbed Max's hand and lead her out of the dorms.

"Chloe, where are we going?" I spun around, still making my way across the grass, and pulled out Step-dicks spare key ring.

"I'm so glad you asked Max, I just happen to have the keys to Blackwell in my pocket, and I think we should indulge a little."

"A-are you sure? I mean, I go to school here, if we get caught I could get expelled."

"Hella yea Max! Besides if anyone catches us you can just rewind and _boom_ uncaught!"

We reached the main grounds, unsurprisingly it was deserted. We crossed the grounds and reached the pool building.

"Seriously Chloe? You want to go swimming at this time of night?" Max scoffed.

"Hey, they got a heater don't knock it till you try it." I hunched over the lock trying several different keys before finding the right one and unlocking it with a satisfying click.

"Hell yea! We're totally like ninjas or something!" I whispered.

I pulled Max into the entrance hall and looked between the two doors, Men's on the right Women's on the left. I swung around to face back to Max and gave her a challenging stare.

"So Max... Boy's or Girl's?" I asked gesturing to each in turn.

She gave me an odd searching look and glanced at the rooms, without a word she walked strait into the Women's room.

 _'What was that about Max?'_ I followed her through the surprisingly clean room and onto the pool deck. I felt the water to test it, just a bit warm, "Perfect, it's kinda warm, would you be a dear and find the light switch? I wanna see the sharks!" Max sighed slightly.

"Alright if you insist." suddenly the pool lights flickered on, I looked up in time to see Max walk out of the pool guards office.

"Nice party trick!" I called and began stripping of my clothes fully aware that Max could easily see me.

One I was donned of all but my bra and panties, I went strait to the edge of the pool and put on my best announcer voice.

"Next up we have Chloe 'The Cannonball' Price, well known for her hella awesome and signature move the "Ten Foot Leap'!" I bent my knees and leapt into the air, propelling myself high off the ground and nearly crashed into the ceiling, I did a brief flip and plummeted back towards the water, slightly slowing my decent to spare me some pain, and tucked into a ball just before I plunged into the water.

I surfaced and heard Max giggle behind me, and she retaliated.  
"Yes, and she's also known for being an enormous show-off, and a klutz at the best of times."

"Now that's just cold..." Max laughed harder and I noticed that she hadn't made any movement to undress.

"...Unlike this water, C'mon hippie it feels great! Oorrr are you going to swim in your clothes? I wouldn't recommend that." I teased and playfully splashed a bit of water in her direction.

"Gah! Okay okay, gimme a minute." I saw her tuck her camera into her bag, and start to undress, _'I wonder what she took a picture of...'_

Max turned to put her clothes on a chair and I realized that I had been staring, I turned away and felt a warm feeling in my chest that spread to my face rapidly. _'Dammit Chloe, quit creeping!'_

A loud splash followed by a small wave announced Max's arrival into the pool, and I turned around to face her.

"Why look an otter in my water!" I exclaimed and waded over towards her, gnashing with my teeth playfully.

"Ahhh! Chloe no! Otters don't like sharks!" Max laughed, splashing me with water.

"That's cause we _eat_ them!" I lunged at Max, diving under the water and grabbing her waist, pulling her under as well. She escaped from my grasp and rose back to the surface, I followed laughing as broke the surface.

"You're such an ass Chloe." Max smiled and the warm feeling in my chest grew again, as she twisted to float on her back. I mimicked the motion and smirked as I let myself slowly rotate around her, barely moving a muscle.

"I'm glad we're back in action Chloe... I've really missed you, even though I wasn't good at showing it."

"You could say that again." I mumbled, but quickly changed my tone to be more pleasant. "I missed you too Max, and quit fussing so much over that shit. It's fine."

"No it's not Chloe, I'm such a-" I cut her off, not wanting her to turn this hella cool moment into a crying fest.

"Yes it is Max! It's in the past and there's nothing you can do to change it, and believe it or not but I _forgive_ you! So _please_ stop beating yourself up with this okay?" I switched back to treading water, and lifted myself up slightly to look into Max's eyes.

"How could you though? How do you not hate me?"

"I could never hate you Maxie, I was mad yes, but never hate you." I don't know how long we floated there staring at each other but I found myself counting the freckles on Max's face, _'Twenty-three, twenty-four...'_

"What are you doing?" Max asked. I blushed and turned away, realizing I had been caught.

"Oh- um... nothing, just spaced off for a moment."

"Oh, okay. Um let's go ahead and get out, the water is getting kinda warm." Max said slowly.

"Awe, But I haven't eaten you yet." I teased.

"Eh maybe next time Che." I grinned and dove under the water one last time before shooting under Max and shot upwards, lifting her out of the water and into the air, landing near out clothes.

I was just pulling up my pants when I suddenly heard the main door slam closed.

"I know you're in here! If you come out now I won't call the cops!" The sudden gruff voice of Step-ass, echoed around the building making it seem much louder than it actually was.

" _Shit, Max gotta run!'_ I hissed, I grabbed my shoes and Max's hand, she was fortunately wearing her shirt and pants, as well as one shoe, the other in her hand, she grabbed her bag and jacket and we ran towards the emergency exit at the end of the pool.

We quietly pushed the doors open and let them close behind us as I dragged Max towards the parking lot.

"Wait! My rooms that way Chloe!" Max gasped, resisting my pull.

"Yea so is security, they'll catch us for sure if we go that way. You can crash at my place tonight." I replied, and descended the stairs towards the parking lot, Max close behind.

 **A/N: I really struggled while writing this chapter, mostly because of a case of writers procrastination for this, every time I went to work on it I kept getting distracted either by some random shit or a couple other projects I've been working on.**

 **I'm currently attempting my hand at a holiday-themed one-shot that really has gotten out of hand, it's already close to 5k words and I'm not even halfway done yet! I'm going to try and get it out before the 24** **th** **and hopefully I can make that deadline.**

 **Again thank you to all who have reviewed, followed, and favorites my stories, I hope you all are enjoying reading these as much as I do writing them.**


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, Aheyea here. I must apologize for the delay in uploading more chapters for Life Is Hella Strange, I've just been really distracted with the holidays and work. I'm also having trouble with the overall plotline, I know where I want to take it but I'm coming up with a means to get from point A to point B and such.

Thank you to everyone who has favorited and reviewed, I really appreciate it, feel free to point out any errors (spelling, grammatical, or just inconsistencies) I really don't mind criticisms either; feel free to PM me, I read everything I get from this website.

In the meantime I'm planning on releasing a one-shot this weekend, I was planning on making it a short story but it just keeps stretching and getting longer as I write it. Kinda annoying actually... either way I'm sorry that I have to put this story on hold for now but I intend on getting back to it as soon as I can figure out how I'm going to get to where I'm going.

Till then,

Stay Hella!


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